As expected with reintroducing the four division format and playoff system, we benefited from from fantastic first round match ups. Now, the fact that rivals not matching up later on in more meaningful games is another story.
The Blues/Blackhawks series was memorable for its high intensity, long existing rivalry, and of course four overtime games! It had everything from controversy to last second comebacks and then some. This is what the NHL envisioned when they decided to revert to this system. The first two games looked like this series would go the distance, but the defending Stanley Cup champions did not falter and defended the Madhouse valiantly. After an overtime that saw Blackhawks captain, Jonathan Toews, streak down the ice and slide the puck just behind Ryan Miller's pad, one could sense the swing in the series momentum. It was simply experience over inexperience. The poor Blues team had everything going for them until about two weeks left in the season. They had some injuries. They lost six straight to end the regular season. And unfortunately, lost the Central Division title that would've let them avoid the Blackhawks in the first round. It was a tough draw for both teams. Chicago had injuries heading into the postseason as well, but the difference can be chalked up to playoff experience. It's well known that in hockey, the playoffs are vastly different from the previous 82 games. St. Louis has experienced three first round exits in as many years and made all of the moves that would suggest they would get over the hump. Ultimately though, facing hockey's most recent dynasty led to their demise. The Blackhawks could've easily crumbled after two devastating losses, but they persevered and went on to win four straight. The age old debate of "hunger vs. experience" has its back and forth exchanges, but experience prevailed this time around.
Continuing with the rest of the west, the Ducks overcame a two goal deficit with less than three minutes to go in regulation and ended up winning Game 6 in overtime to oust the pesky Dallas Stars. The Stars showed some resolve by taking Games 3 and 4 at home, but Anaheim from day one of the regular season has been one of the best teams in the league despite a now apparent goalie controversy.
Meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks seemed to be cruising against the L.A. Kings, but the Kings are pushing back after taking both Games 4 and 5. Sharks goalie, Antti Niemi, was pulled in both of those losses and backup, Alex Stalock, will be getting the net tonight to hopefully closeout the series. Just when I thought the Sharks could bury their demons from playoffs' past, here they are again trying to repeat history. The Kings deserve some credit too. While they looked lost in the first three games, they have bounced back tremendously as they established their brand of hockey exquisitely in the past two games. It'll be a battle tonight in L.A.
In the Colorado/Minnesota series, the home team has won every game so far. Colorado's rookie, Nathan MacKinnon is making his presence felt as he already racked up 10 points in five games in his first ever playoff campaign. It should be noted though that the Wild have played extremely well on their home ice this year and that if the Avalanche want to end the series tonight, it will take a full team effort. Minnesota's grit has kept them in this series. They took Game 3 in overtime 1-0 on a spectacular effort from Mikael Granlund, which was reminiscent of Bobby Orr. They then held on to win by a goal in Game 4. The Wild controversially lost Game 5 on a missed holding call while Charlie Coyle of the Wild was going to score the insurance goal on the empty Avalanche net. Colorado on the ensuing possession tied the game and won it just three minutes into OT on a goal by MacKinnon. Game 6 is tonight and shaping up to be another dandy.
Back east, Tampa was ousted by Montreal as they severely missed their Vezina nominated goalie, Ben Bishop. Montreal overwhelmed the young Lightning defense, while the Bolts' offense could not figure out potential Vezina snub, Carey Price.
After winning Game 1, Detroit sputtered and were eliminated by the Eastern Conference juggernaut, Boston Bruins. Again experience can be touted as the decisive factor, but I think it also came down to injuries and just pure talent. Detroit's stars had been injured on and off all season, including Henrik Zetterberg who was sidelined after getting hurt during the Olympics. He made a return to rally the troops, but it is speculated that he wasn't at 100%. Meanwhile, the East is Boston's to lose. Returning most of the team that fell victim to a mere 17 second lapse from forcing Game 7, the Bruins are loaded with a superior mix of depth, skill, defense, and physicality that is unmatched in the league. However, they will now link up with their longtime rivals, the Montreal Candiens, in the second round. It's the 34th all time playoff meeting in the two franchises' storied histories (the most of any two teams all time as well).
Yesterday, the Rangers and the Flyers played an underwhelming series considering the hype going into the playoffs. The teams exchanged wins with the Rangers taking a 3-2 series lead at Madison Square Garden yesterday. The series has been tame due to the Rangers unwillingness to engage after the whistle. The Rangers appeared to be the superior team in terms of puck possession, but the Flyers have capitalized on their limited chances excluding their powerplay. They were only 1 for 5 on Sunday and the one conversion came courtesy of Rangers' defensman, Kevin Klein, whose stick deflected a shot going wide through the wickets of Henrik Lundqvist. Claude Giroux also scored late for the Flyers. It was his first goal against the Rangers in his last 14 games. Expect him to rally the troops for Tuesday's tilt. He seems to play pretty well in strategic games. The Rangers also haven't won a series in less than seven games since 2008 when they eliminated the Devils in the first round in five games. I expect Tuesday's matchup to be the best of the series (unless of course there's Game 7).
Lastly, we come to the Penguins/Blue Jackets, arguably the most compelling series of the first round. Some might call it predictable given the recent playoff history of the Penguins, but in spite of that, this series features two of the best players in the league in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin going against a franchise that going into the series was still looking for its first ever playoff win. Just like the Rangers and Flyers, the Penguins and Jackets have exchanged wins. Pittsburgh leads 3-2 with Game 6 being played tonight in Columbus. The most interesting part about this series that in all games except for Game 5, the team that has taken a two goal or more lead has lost. They say that a two goal lead is the worst in hockey because the leading team gets too comfortable. However, being down two, the trailing team pushes hard to get back in the game. If the trailing team ends up netting a goal, they tend to gain a lot of momentum, often times getting a quick second goal to tie the game. The Penguins' recent playoff woes are well documented. Is it Fleury's fault? Is it Crosby's fault? Each member of the team shares the blame but a recent Puck Daddy article I think sums it up the best. At the same time too, these Columbus Blue Jackets have more to them than last year's New York Islanders, who played Pittsburgh in a tough six game first round series. The Blue Jackets are a young team that is still going through growing pains. But benefits of being a young team include speed, a hunger to win, and most notably, home ice advantage. The Columbus fan base has come a long way. The franchise has only recently become competitive, but if you saw Games 3 and 4, they're easy to notice. During Game 4, even when their team was down three goals, they were still cheering loudly to get their boys back in it. I've seen many arenas go silent during similar situations. But the Columbus crowd willed their team to overcome a three goal deficit that was capped off by a game tying goal by Brandon Dubinsky late in regulation and a "knucklepuck" from Nick Foligno in overtime. Some may disagree, but it's easy for younger teams to get down on themselves when they get behind. I think it's easy to say that the crowd played some sort of role in helping them believe. And now, you can bet that the Blue Jackets will have tons of confidence going into tonight's game. They've beaten Pittsburgh twice already and they'll be playing in front of over 18,000 of their best friends. This is still anybody's series. Tune in tonight at 7p.m. ET.
I can only hope that the ensuing rounds bring us as much excitement as this one! Onward to the Elite 8.
The Blues/Blackhawks series was memorable for its high intensity, long existing rivalry, and of course four overtime games! It had everything from controversy to last second comebacks and then some. This is what the NHL envisioned when they decided to revert to this system. The first two games looked like this series would go the distance, but the defending Stanley Cup champions did not falter and defended the Madhouse valiantly. After an overtime that saw Blackhawks captain, Jonathan Toews, streak down the ice and slide the puck just behind Ryan Miller's pad, one could sense the swing in the series momentum. It was simply experience over inexperience. The poor Blues team had everything going for them until about two weeks left in the season. They had some injuries. They lost six straight to end the regular season. And unfortunately, lost the Central Division title that would've let them avoid the Blackhawks in the first round. It was a tough draw for both teams. Chicago had injuries heading into the postseason as well, but the difference can be chalked up to playoff experience. It's well known that in hockey, the playoffs are vastly different from the previous 82 games. St. Louis has experienced three first round exits in as many years and made all of the moves that would suggest they would get over the hump. Ultimately though, facing hockey's most recent dynasty led to their demise. The Blackhawks could've easily crumbled after two devastating losses, but they persevered and went on to win four straight. The age old debate of "hunger vs. experience" has its back and forth exchanges, but experience prevailed this time around.
Continuing with the rest of the west, the Ducks overcame a two goal deficit with less than three minutes to go in regulation and ended up winning Game 6 in overtime to oust the pesky Dallas Stars. The Stars showed some resolve by taking Games 3 and 4 at home, but Anaheim from day one of the regular season has been one of the best teams in the league despite a now apparent goalie controversy.
Meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks seemed to be cruising against the L.A. Kings, but the Kings are pushing back after taking both Games 4 and 5. Sharks goalie, Antti Niemi, was pulled in both of those losses and backup, Alex Stalock, will be getting the net tonight to hopefully closeout the series. Just when I thought the Sharks could bury their demons from playoffs' past, here they are again trying to repeat history. The Kings deserve some credit too. While they looked lost in the first three games, they have bounced back tremendously as they established their brand of hockey exquisitely in the past two games. It'll be a battle tonight in L.A.
In the Colorado/Minnesota series, the home team has won every game so far. Colorado's rookie, Nathan MacKinnon is making his presence felt as he already racked up 10 points in five games in his first ever playoff campaign. It should be noted though that the Wild have played extremely well on their home ice this year and that if the Avalanche want to end the series tonight, it will take a full team effort. Minnesota's grit has kept them in this series. They took Game 3 in overtime 1-0 on a spectacular effort from Mikael Granlund, which was reminiscent of Bobby Orr. They then held on to win by a goal in Game 4. The Wild controversially lost Game 5 on a missed holding call while Charlie Coyle of the Wild was going to score the insurance goal on the empty Avalanche net. Colorado on the ensuing possession tied the game and won it just three minutes into OT on a goal by MacKinnon. Game 6 is tonight and shaping up to be another dandy.
Back east, Tampa was ousted by Montreal as they severely missed their Vezina nominated goalie, Ben Bishop. Montreal overwhelmed the young Lightning defense, while the Bolts' offense could not figure out potential Vezina snub, Carey Price.
After winning Game 1, Detroit sputtered and were eliminated by the Eastern Conference juggernaut, Boston Bruins. Again experience can be touted as the decisive factor, but I think it also came down to injuries and just pure talent. Detroit's stars had been injured on and off all season, including Henrik Zetterberg who was sidelined after getting hurt during the Olympics. He made a return to rally the troops, but it is speculated that he wasn't at 100%. Meanwhile, the East is Boston's to lose. Returning most of the team that fell victim to a mere 17 second lapse from forcing Game 7, the Bruins are loaded with a superior mix of depth, skill, defense, and physicality that is unmatched in the league. However, they will now link up with their longtime rivals, the Montreal Candiens, in the second round. It's the 34th all time playoff meeting in the two franchises' storied histories (the most of any two teams all time as well).
Yesterday, the Rangers and the Flyers played an underwhelming series considering the hype going into the playoffs. The teams exchanged wins with the Rangers taking a 3-2 series lead at Madison Square Garden yesterday. The series has been tame due to the Rangers unwillingness to engage after the whistle. The Rangers appeared to be the superior team in terms of puck possession, but the Flyers have capitalized on their limited chances excluding their powerplay. They were only 1 for 5 on Sunday and the one conversion came courtesy of Rangers' defensman, Kevin Klein, whose stick deflected a shot going wide through the wickets of Henrik Lundqvist. Claude Giroux also scored late for the Flyers. It was his first goal against the Rangers in his last 14 games. Expect him to rally the troops for Tuesday's tilt. He seems to play pretty well in strategic games. The Rangers also haven't won a series in less than seven games since 2008 when they eliminated the Devils in the first round in five games. I expect Tuesday's matchup to be the best of the series (unless of course there's Game 7).
Lastly, we come to the Penguins/Blue Jackets, arguably the most compelling series of the first round. Some might call it predictable given the recent playoff history of the Penguins, but in spite of that, this series features two of the best players in the league in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin going against a franchise that going into the series was still looking for its first ever playoff win. Just like the Rangers and Flyers, the Penguins and Jackets have exchanged wins. Pittsburgh leads 3-2 with Game 6 being played tonight in Columbus. The most interesting part about this series that in all games except for Game 5, the team that has taken a two goal or more lead has lost. They say that a two goal lead is the worst in hockey because the leading team gets too comfortable. However, being down two, the trailing team pushes hard to get back in the game. If the trailing team ends up netting a goal, they tend to gain a lot of momentum, often times getting a quick second goal to tie the game. The Penguins' recent playoff woes are well documented. Is it Fleury's fault? Is it Crosby's fault? Each member of the team shares the blame but a recent Puck Daddy article I think sums it up the best. At the same time too, these Columbus Blue Jackets have more to them than last year's New York Islanders, who played Pittsburgh in a tough six game first round series. The Blue Jackets are a young team that is still going through growing pains. But benefits of being a young team include speed, a hunger to win, and most notably, home ice advantage. The Columbus fan base has come a long way. The franchise has only recently become competitive, but if you saw Games 3 and 4, they're easy to notice. During Game 4, even when their team was down three goals, they were still cheering loudly to get their boys back in it. I've seen many arenas go silent during similar situations. But the Columbus crowd willed their team to overcome a three goal deficit that was capped off by a game tying goal by Brandon Dubinsky late in regulation and a "knucklepuck" from Nick Foligno in overtime. Some may disagree, but it's easy for younger teams to get down on themselves when they get behind. I think it's easy to say that the crowd played some sort of role in helping them believe. And now, you can bet that the Blue Jackets will have tons of confidence going into tonight's game. They've beaten Pittsburgh twice already and they'll be playing in front of over 18,000 of their best friends. This is still anybody's series. Tune in tonight at 7p.m. ET.
I can only hope that the ensuing rounds bring us as much excitement as this one! Onward to the Elite 8.